The British Labour Party under the sway of former Prime Minister Tony Blair is plotting to derail Jeremy Corbyn’s bid to win the forthcoming leadership contest.

Such is the fear of Corbyn reinventing the party as a genuine socialist alternative, that Blair and his clique of “party grandees” are aiming to overturn the ballot underway among the rank-and-file members.

Peter Mandelson, a top aide to Blair who is now a member of the unelected House of Lords, reportedly made an attempt to get the other three contenders to “stand down” from the leadership election, and thereby trigger the ballot to be declared void.

The rightwing Daily Telegraph reported this week that Mandelson and other Blairites are aghast at the prospect of Corbyn winning the party leadership. They have described the election a “disgrace” and want to have the vote “pulled”.